The Bryan College duo of Conner DiMauro, of Dayton and Cole Sands, of Calhoun won the season-opening Major League Fishing Wiley X College Faceoff at Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Al. Saturday.
The Lions’ bass club boated six bass weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces – including a dramatic late catch with just two minutes left in the competition – to win the first of four Wiley X College Faceoff Events in the 2021 season and earn the win by a 2-pound, 7-ounce margin over Montevallo University’s Aaron Cherry and Chandler Holt.
The 10 teams that competed in the Wiley X College Faceoff at Lake Guntersville finished:
- 1st: Bryan College – Cole Sands, Calhoun, and Conner DiMauro, Dayton, six bass, 15-6
- 2nd: Montevallo University – Aaron Cherry, Kinsey, Al., and Chandler Holt, Sterett, Al., five bass, 13-15
- 3rd: Emmanuel College – Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., and Caleb Hudson, Evans, Ga., three bass, 11-2
- 4th: Bethel University – Brad Ableman, Watervliet, NY, and Kyle Palmer, Estill Springs, Tn., four bass, 10-5
- 5th: Bethel University – Dax Ewart, Humboldt, Tn., and Wilson Smith, Southaven, Ms., four bass, 9-4
- 6th: Montevallo University – Cade Holcomb and Kopeland Rosser, both of Helena, Al., three bass, 8-6
- 7th: Bryan College – Eli Stevenson and Justin Botts, both of Bluff City, Tn., two bass, 8-6
- 8th: Auburn University – Will Jones, Andalusia, Al., and Garrett Warren, Hoover, Al., three bass, 7-1
- 9th: Auburn University – Noah Coleman, Pinson, Al., and Dalton Johnson, Smiths Station, Al., three bass, 6-10
- 10th: Emmanuel College – Lillian Smith, Abbeville, SC, and Kollin Smith, Bowersville, Ga., one bass, 2-2
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The Wiley X College Faceoffs are single-day tournaments where competitors fish in an MLF-style catch, weigh, immediate-release format at each event. The College Faceoff tournaments occur the Saturday following an Abu Garcia College Fishing competition, on the same body of water. The results from the College Fishing tournament the previous day determine the 20 competitors for the Wiley X College Faceoff, with the top two teams (four anglers) from the top five schools in the regular season tournament qualifying to fish in the ten-boat faceoff the following day.
The Wiley X College Faceoff tournament was hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the first of four Faceoff events for MLF collegiate anglers. The next College Faceoff event will be held June 12 at Lake O’ the Pines in Jefferson, Tx.
Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. Registration is accepted from any eligible college team from across the United States. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship. One additional team will automatically qualify for the National Championship for every 10 teams over 200 competing.